This morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he knows of no Republicans or independents seriously considering a run to succeed him, and because of that, the next mayor will be chosen by a very small group of people.

The mayor was responding to a question about his education policies, and whether he had any expectation that the Democrats bying to succeed him in City Hall would continue them. The mayor’s chief Albany lobbyist, Micah Lasher, is leaving the administration to lead a new political advocacy group, called StudentsFirstNY, to counteract the influence of the United Federation of Teachers on the election.

“Look, I‘ve worked well with all of them, all of those people whose names are mentioned,” said the mayor this morning, following a press conference at Jet Blue’s new headquarters in Long Island City. “I think, you know,